Las Vegas: Did Stephen Paddock leave a SUICIDE NOTE? Letter found next to his dead body

THE reason why Stephen Paddock carried out the Las Vegas shooting could be revealed in a note found by his body.

Bodycam footage from inside Paddock's Mandalay Bay hotel room has been leaked showing the scene police were confronted with when they stormed his bolthole.

They found a lair packed with 23 guns and ammunition, including weapons in the bath, on tripods pointing out of the smashed windows, and by Paddock’s dead body.

And crucially, a note was seen with a pen on a side table in the suite, which could give detectives vital clues as to why the 64-year-old opened fire on revellers enjoying Route 91 Harvest Festival, which left at least 59 dead.

Intelligence agents are struggling to comprehend the motive behind the most deadly shooting in US history, with the FBI reluctant to believe Paddock was radicalised.

Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack in the aftermath, but the US Government would not confirm it was a jihadist attack.

Just beyond the shattered room’s entrance, an assault rifle can be seen resting on a bipod, which he used as a sniper's perch.

Two more semi-automatic AR-15-style weapons are also pictured on the carpet, strewn with spent ammunition.

Another graphic image – which the Express.co.uk has chosen not the publish – reveals the close-up of the killer’s face.

Police said Paddock blasted the concert crowd with bullets for nine to 11 minutes before taking his own life.

He had set up cameras inside and outside his hotel suite, which law enforcement officials believe were used to monitor the police.

A total of 47 firearms were recovered from three locations including Paddock's hotel suite, his home in Mesquite, and another property associated with him in Reno, Nevada.

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Las Vegas police have authenticated the photos and confirmed around 20 guns were found in the suite

The rifles, shotguns, and pistols were purchased in four states - Nevada, Utah, California and Texas.

A search of Paddock's car turned up a supply of ammonium nitrate, a fertiliser that can be formed into explosives and was used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing of a federal office building that killed 168 people.

Investigators have so far struggled to find a motive for the attack, which has been described as the worst mass shooting in US history.

Paddock, the son of a “psychopathic” bank robber, checked into the hotel last Thursday, three days before the shooting, at the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip.

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Lleaked photos also show Paddock dead on the floor and he appears to have left a note on a table

A police source said: “The purpose of the investigation is to look at how he managed to build such an arsenal up without being detected.

“The fear is that Paddock’s attack will lead to copycat crimes as other may harbour similar ideas to him.”

Paddock had smashed two of his suite’s windows, positioning himself above the crowd of 22,000 at the Route 91 Harvest Festival and opened fire just after 10pm local time.

Speaking after the tragedy, Donald Trump said: “He was a sick man, a demented man. A lot of problems, I guess and we’re looking into him very, very seriously, but we’re dealing with a very, very sick individual.”